For the Love of a Princess
by Sable Snow
Summary: Tamaki tells a story about a beautiful princess who was loved by all, including her friends. One-shot.


**Disclaimer:** Neither Ouran High School Host club nor its characters belong to me.

* * *

 _Once upon a time, there was a beautiful princess named Haruhi._

"Really, Tamaki-senpai?"

"Don't interrupt daddy in the middle of his story, Haruhi! Now, where was I…."

 _Once upon a time there was a beautiful princess named Haruhi. She was a kind and just princess, always fair to all her subjects. She never considered herself better than others, and spent her time among less fortunate people. Everyone loved her-_

"Oh please."

"Haruhi! Just let me tell my story!"

"Alright, alright, I'll be quiet. Even if this is ridiculous."

"As I was saying..."

 _Everyone loved her and wanted to be part of her life, in any small way they could._

 _Crafters of all professions made goods especially for her. Hunters and gatherers brought continuous food to her door. Chiefs couldn't wait until the next meal so they could once again delight the princess with their skills._

 _And without fail, princess Haruhi would graciously accept their gifts and thank them from the bottom of her heart every single time. However, Haruhi had no need of any of this. She was royalty, after all. So she would keep trinkets and goods for a time to ensure they were given the love and attention they deserved and then donate them to the less fortunate members of her kingdom. She would have her chiefs cook large meals that she would never be able to finish by herself, so that she could give left overs to those in need. It just made them love her more._

 _Members of her court felt much the same. The aristocracy that lived alongside her in the castle walls cherished the princess as well. Unfortunately, they had no need for her presents or left overs as the peasants did, and so the princess hardly took notice of her peers._

 _She was friendly to them when their paths crossed (they often went out of their way to make sure their paths did cross), and was always willing to listen when they needed someone to talk to, but she never sought them out. She seemed to enjoy herself more with her people than with those more equal to her. It would hurt their feelings if they thought she was doing it on purpose. Alas, she was just ignorant of their fondnes._

 _Princess Haruhi was a very caring individual, and would never hurt someone if at all avoidable. She just hadn't realized she was hurting them._

 _The twins of her court enjoyed practical jokes that tended to lean towards the mean spectrum of things. The tallest spent his time working out or silently accompanying his cousin, the sweets glutton. Said glutton could often be found playing with stuffed animals when he wasn't indulging himself. The most calculating of the group liked to observe different factions of castle life, gather data, and find means of improving upon daily tasks. And finally, their leader, loved to create silly games for them all to enjoy._

"Hmm, I wonder who you could be referring to," Haruhi joked with a roll of her eyes.

 _They were thick as thieves, no matter their differences, and spent much time as a group. The princess never saw them as anything but happy, and preferred not to get in the middle of their group dynamic, afraid of messing things up. They each had a role, after all._

 _Her lack of interest crushed them, but they could never let her see that. They would never be the cause of her beautiful smile falling from her lips._

 _So they began to devise a plan to tell the princess how they felt. They agonized over the details for weeks, hoping that their affections would be well-received. Finally, they agreed upon a simple plan and put it into action!_

 _In the elate afternoon, the twins lay in wait for the princess to return to the castle. They cut her off heading to her chamber and pleaded with her to come with them because the smallest of their group was feeling ill. The princess, of course, followed them without question. She wanted to do whatever she could to help._

"Well this is oddly familiar..."

Tamaki ignored Haruhi's continuous interruptions.

 _The cunning twins lead her into the castle's music room, confusion starting to mar her face. She was sure they had said he was elsewhere. Looking around, princess Haruhi was surprised to see four other young men already in the room. They were sitting on couches that had been arranged in a U shape. Realizing that she had been tricked into coming here, the princess tried to leave, but the twins quickly locked the doors behind them._

"Okay, what is going on, Tamaki-senpai? That is exactly what just happened."

"Just listen!"

 _Knowing the men here, she had no fear for her safety, just annoyance at the situation. She had other things she could be doing. Accepting their offer, the princess joined them, sitting on the middle couch of the U with the twins following her._

 _As a group they explained that they all enjoyed the princess' company very much, and wished she had more time for them. They knew she had other obligations, and couldn't spend every day with them, but they wanted as much time as they could get. They were happiest when she was around, and distraught on days when she didn't acknowledge them._

 _And then, steeling their resolve, they all confessed._

 _K_ _ao_ _ru started them off,_ "I love you, Haruhi."

The voice on her right made her jump. It was the first time anyone but Tamaki had spoken the whole time she'd been there. "I was wondering if you guys were going to join in the story."

 _Following his twin, Hikaru spoke up next._ "I love you, Haruhi."

Her head swiveled to the other side now, staring questionably at this latest bit of narration.

 _On the couch to the princess' left_ _the group's supposed "sick" member took his turn._ "I love you Haru-chan." He was squeezing Usa-chan, eyes pleading with Haruhi to understand what they were saying.

 _Next to him, Mori followed._ "I love you, Haruhi."

 _Kyoya wasted no time when it came to him._ "I love you, Haruhi."

 _That left just the final member of their group. Kneeling down in front of the princess, he grabbed one of her hands and said,_ "I love you, Haruhi. We all love you."

Haruhi was staring at a kneeling Tamaki, everyone else eye's on her. She waited a minute, then two. "What happened next?" She prompted him to continue.

Tamaki's smile turned sad and he couldn't answer her. Kyoya jumped in with, "Well, that's the problem, Haruhi. We don't know how the story ends….we were hoping you could tell us."

She looked incredulous at this. "What do you mean? It's your story..." She looked around at them all, waiting for someone to fill her in.

"Yeah, Haruhi," Kaoru explained. "That was _our_ story. Now we need to hear _your_ story." He tried to emphasize the difference.

Dense as ever, Haruhi still wasn't understanding. "I'm sorry, I think I'm missing something."

"It's not just a story, Haru-chan," Honey started. "We love you. All of us. Very much. We were hoping you could tell us how you feel too."

They all seemed nervous for her reply, but she couldn't formulate an answer. They loved her. That story was just a lead in for them to tell her how they felt. But how did she feel? She loved them all, too. That had been clear to her for some time, but not in the way they were expressing to her.

Was she in love with any of them? With all of them?

After spending so much time with them, she couldn't imagine a life without the host club. She took her hand back from Tamaki and clenched it with her other in her lap. She looked down at them so she didn't have to look at her friends. Some of them looked scared, others were hopeful. Tamaki hadn't looked up since he finished speaking.

"I don't know what to say-"

"Then it's obvious you don't feel the same! Just forget it!" Hikaru shouted, launching himself up off the couch. Before he could walk off, Mori stood up to stop him.

"Sit down, Hikaru. Give her time," Mori commanded. Having no way around him, Hikaru sat.

Kaoru turned to address a shocked Haruhi. "Ignore him. Just say what you're thinking. That's all we want. We don't have any expectations. You don't have to love us back. Any of us. We won't be upset," he sent a pointed look at his twin, "no matter what your answer is. Just, please, Haruhi?"

"We've felt like this for a while, Haru-chan," Honey felt the need to add. "We just couldn't hold it in anymore. And none of us wanted to be unfair to the others, so we decided to tell you together. We're not trying to make you choose between us or anything. We'll still all be friends no matter what!"

She didn't know if she believed that. She'd already seen Hikaru's preliminary reaction, so she knew the wrong answer here could very well ruin their whole group dynamic.

Trying to remain comforting, Honey spoke again. "Here, Haru-chan. You can hold my Usa-chan if you want." He got up to hand his bear over, and she gladly took him. It gave her something to squeeze other than her own hands.

"Thanks, Honey-senpai." She managed a small smile in his direction.

Haruhi took a deep breath to try to calm down. "Okay. You just want my thoughts? I can do that."

She turned first to Kaoru because he had been the first to confess his feelings for her. "Kaoru. You're definitely the bravest person in this room. You're not afraid to separate yourself from the life you always knew to venture out and try new things. You were the first to tell me the truth today, and I'm sure you volunteered to do so. And it's amazing how well keep a cool head when most people would be freaking out."

Haruhi paused for another deep breath before she finished. "I love you." She leaned in to plant a kiss on his cheek.

He was shocked! They all were! What did this mean? Had she made her choice? Kaoru's hand raised to touch his cheek, completely lost for words.

Before she could loose her nerve, Haruhi turned next to Hikaru. He was looking at her like she had betrayed him, and she nearly backed out of what she wanted to say. "Hikaru. Do you remember when you ate a cookie right out of my mouth? It was a huge invasion of my personal space, but later that day, I couldn't stop laughing about it. I mean, I probably wouldn't even let my dad do that, and there you were, just playing around, and I didn't even get mad about it. You do all these hilarious little things that I'll find myself still laughing at days after the fact! I really enjoy it. And I know you may not like many people, but you're incredible loyal to those that you do care about. I've lost friends in the past because of my dad's lifestyle, but that fear never even crossed my mind with you."

Haruhi leaned towards the older twin and placed a kiss on his cheek too. "I love you." He smiled, and mirrored his twin's actions with his hand.

Carefully standing up so as not to step on the kneeling Tamaki, Haruhi went to Honey and Mori's couch and squished herself down in between them.

She looked to Honey next. "Honey-senpai. You're one of the strongest people I've ever met – and I don't just mean physically! You managed to turn your back on the lifestyle that was ingrained into you, for the lifestyle that you wanted. You alienated family members in doing so, but still you've stayed true to yourself. You're also one of the most caring people I know. You give good advice and you never sound condescending giving it. You like to share and make other people happy. I love you." Continuing her pattern, Haruhi leaned in and kissed Honey on the cheek.

"Mori-senpai," she said, turning to the next host. "I feel incredibly safe when you're around. You have this look that seems to tell others that it would be a bad idea for them to interfere with your friends. You're protective, and that feels really nice. You're quiet too, and it amazes me how you're able to say so much without opening your mouth. It's quite the skill, but what's even more impressive is how much you relay when you do speak. I don't think most people see the emotions you put into such small phrases. You actually speak volumes. I love you." Mori got a kiss on the cheek as well.

Moving once again, this time to sit by Kyoya, Haruhi continued. "Kyoya-senpai. You're very calculating and logical, but even more so, you're a good person. I've seen you use your skills to help so many people who, no matter what reason you try to convince everyone else of, you actually helped for the sake of helping. You have a vast number of resources at your fingertips, and you like to use them for the good of others more than yourself. And you're observant. You always seem to know what's going on around you when others are oblivious, and you find ways of turning that knowledge into yours and your friends' good fortune. I love you." Once again, Haruhi placed another kiss on a cheek.

She moved away from Kyoya and onto the floor to kneel next to Tamaki. "Tamaki-senpai. You have this ability to turn any bad situation into a good one. You smile and laugh every single day, and you endeavor to share that joy with everyone you meet. I don't know how you do it! And you have this energy that just pulls people to you. It _makes_ other people want to be as good and as kind as you. None of us would be where we are today if it weren't for your vision for each of us and for this club. I love you." Finally, Haruhi placed her final kiss of the day and stood back up.

Distancing herself from them a bit she turned to take in the group. None of them were looking at her, and she knew they weren't as happy as they had promised they would be. Had she made the wrong decision?

"I'm sorry that this probably isn't the ending to your story that you wanted. I love each one of you." She hesitated, afraid her next thought would push some of them away. "But I don't know if I'm _in love_ with any of you. It's honestly not something I've ever thought about. We've spent so much time together, all seven of us. When I started at Ouran, I had planned to keep to myself and focus on my studies, but I can't tell you how happy I am that I didn't get that wish. I can't imagine my life without you guys, and I don't want to."

She looked down, not knowing how the next bit would be received. "I feel like you guys are asking me to choose between you, and I just can't do that. You said it wouldn't ruin any of our relationships, but I'm not as blind as you seem to think I am. I've seen how you all responded while I've been rambling on. I've noticed the jealous and hurt glances. I've watched the shock and the betrayal at every other sentence. What you're asking isn't fair to any of us, and I won't be the one to ruin what we have."

She was shaking now, from nerves or adrenaline she couldn't say. "I love each member of this crazy little family and I love that I'm lucky enough to be part of it. But if you really need me to pick..."

Every gaze in the room shot up to meet Haruhi's. This was the moment they were waiting for. Who would it be? What would they do when she finally told them?

"I pick all of you. Kaoru, Hikaru, Honey, Mori, Kyoya, and Tamaki. You can either all have me, or none of you."

Smiles began to line their faces, and one by one they each got up to envelop Haruhi in a group hug. Maybe her family wouldn't break apart, after all.


End file.
